Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - vague

(vaguer, vaguest) 1. If something written or spoken is vague, it does not explain or express things clearly. The description was pretty vague. ...vague information. ? precise ADJ • vaguely ‘I’m not sure,’ Liz said vaguely... They issued a vaguely worded statement. ADV • vagueness ...the vagueness of the language in the text. N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n 2. If you have a vague memory or idea of something, the memory or idea is not clear. They have only a vague idea of the amount of water available... Waite’s memory of that first meeting was vague. = faint ADJ • vaguely Judith could vaguely remember her mother lying on the sofa. ADV: ADV with v 3. If you are vague about something, you deliberately do not tell people much about it. He was vague, however, about just what U.S. forces might actually do... Democratic leaders under election pressure tend to respond with vague promises of action... ADJ 4. If you describe someone as vague, you mean that they do not seem to be thinking clearly. She had married a charming but rather vague Englishman... His eyes were always so vague when he looked at her. ADJ 5. If something such as a feeling is vague, you experience it only slightly. He was conscious of that vague feeling of irritation again... ADJ: usu ADJ n 6. A vague shape or outline is not clear and is therefore not easy to see. The bus was a vague shape in the distance. ADJ: usu ADJ n